Published on: 2026-10-12
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
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The Main Archive of the capital city has opened online access to a photo album from 1902, dedicated to military exercises in the Kursk province under the command of the son of Emperor Alexander II — Grand Duke Sergey Alexandrovich. The footage can be found on the official website of the organization, in the section “Unique documents”. The set of photographs featuring senior commanding officers contains important information both for researchers of the history of the royal family and the Russian army, and for those studying the past of Moscow.
“The Main Archive of Moscow constantly opens new documents to city residents, helping to see the history of the capital and the country through authentic witnesses of the past. First and foremost, we strive to present materials that are most in demand by Muscovites and arouse lively interest among researchers and all those fascinated by studying history. The 1902 photo album is one such document: it not only contains rare shots of military maneuvers but also allows one to see the events of the era through the eyes of its contemporaries. The album has already been included in the State Register of Unique Documents of the Moscow Archival Fund and published for online viewing, so everyone interested can get acquainted with it,” said the head of the Main Archive.
The album contains 18 photographs depicting episodes of military exercises and representatives of the high command. Among them are Chief of Staff Leonid Sobolev and Cavalry General Count Aleksey Olsufiev. Judging by the selection of images, they were taken by the photographer who accompanied Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich during the creation of the crossing over the Seym River. Today, the album is bound in a modern cover, and its original cover has been replaced. However, the photographs themselves remain in good condition.
At the time of the exercises, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich held the post of Moscow Governor-General. More than nine thousand soldiers participated in the large maneuvers between Orel and Kursk, organized by the War Ministry: troops from the Kiev, Odessa, Moscow, and Vilna military districts, united into two combined armies — the Southern and the Moscow. The area of the upcoming maneuvers, attended by His Imperial Majesty, covered the territories of the Kursk, Lgovsky, Sudzhansky, and Rylsky uyezds of the Kursk province. The Moscow army was led by the Grand Duke himself.
The large maneuvers in the Kursk Governorate became a notable event in the Russian Empire. Most Russian newspapers dedicated detailed articles to them. The exercises concluded on September 5, 1902, with a parade of Russian troops attended by Emperor Nicholas II and the Persian Shah Muzaffar al-Din Shah.
The wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna, also left a special legacy in Moscow. In addition to her extensive philanthropy, on which she spent almost all her resources, she founded the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy on Bolshaya Ordynka, where they helped the sick and the poor. The convent still exists today. In 1992, the Episcopal Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church canonized the New Martyrs of Russia, including the holy martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. The archives of the Main Archive hold her photographs, telegrams and invitations addressed to her, as well as documents of the Martha and Mary Convent.
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